Strategic Alliance between Center for Health Value Innovation & DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance Advances Employer Health Benefit Design

Plans underway for Integrated Care Summit, March 29-31, 2009, Austin, TX

ST. LOUIS & WASHINGTON—Sharing a commitment to promote value in employee health benefits through innovation in evidence-based care, the Center for Health Value Innovation, today announced a strategic alliance with DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

Bringing together three of the most knowledgeable organizations in health care and employee benefits, this new alliance will showcase its combined leadership and resources at the 2009 Integrated Care Summit, March 29-31, in Austin, Texas. The Summit provides a forum for employers to learn emerging trends and tools for incorporating care management strategies into employee health benefits.

"This new alliance will more broadly advance strategies that result in better individual health and greater value for employers and health plans," says DMAA President and CEO Tracey Moorhead. DMAA represents organizations and individuals providing wellness, health promotion and disease management services along the care continuum toward the goal of population health improvement.

Noting that U.S. manufacturers are leaders in applying innovative health benefit designs, NAM president and CEO John Engler says, "The Summit offers the best venue for learning tested, value-based strategies for improving employee health and productivity. We hope to expand these health care solutions to manufacturers of all sizes and industries."

DMAA and the NAM launched the annual Integrated Care Summit in September 2007 to promote successful prevention, wellness, and chronic disease management strategies in the workplace.

"The Center is committed to working with innovators—renegades at the grass-roots level," adds Cyndy Nayer, president of the Center. "We know that health care is local, and reaching deeper into communities with best practices and tools will deliver both improved health and financial indicators. We are delighted to be working with Tracey Moorhead, the Board of DMAA, and the NAM."

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About The Center for Health Value Innovation
Launched in 2007, The Center for Health Value Innovation is a not-for-profit (501c3) organization representing industry stakeholders committed to sharing the evidence that value-based health designs improve health status and reduce health cost inflation. Visit www.vbhealth.org.

About DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance
DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance convenes all stakeholders providing services along the continuum of care for population health improvement, including health and wellness promotion, disease management and care coordination. Through advocacy, research and promotion of best practices, DMAA advances population-based strategies to improve care quality and outcomes and reduce preventable costs for individuals with and at risk of chronic conditions. DMAA represents more than 200 corporate and individual stakeholders, including wellness, disease and care management organizations, pharmaceutical manufacturers and benefit managers, health information technology innovators, biotechnology innovators, employers, physicians, nurses and other health care professionals, and researchers and academicians.

About the National Association of Manufacturers
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is the nation's largest industrial trade association, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the NAM has 11 additional offices across the country. Visit the NAM's award winning Web site at www.nam.org for more information about manufacturing and the economy.

Contacts:

CPR for Center for Health Value Innovation
Jim Stroh, (201) 641-1911 x18
Jstroh@cpronline.com
or
DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance
Carl Graziano, (202) 731-5781
cgraziano@dmaa.org
or
National Association of Manufacturers
Laura Narvaiz, (202) 637-3104
lnarvaiz@nam.org